I also found the video below at a local school where you can learn English in Manchester. It appears they also address local phrases and words as well as English courses. Check out the video to get a feel for the accent too.

The description of the video sums up the phrases they focus on. Ones that were new to me included "mardy" meaning grumpy, "blinder" meaning great time and the others I knew or kind of half knew.

If you are going to live in Manchester I recommended saving the video and the newspaper link so that you fit in easier. If you can speak like the locals fo you will find communication much easier.

I went to Newcastle once with no research into local phrases and words. It felt like I was almost in another country at times. I had to get some Geordies to explain really basic things for them, which was embarrassing. So this time I am going prepared for Manchester.

If you think any words or phrases have been left out please add them in the comments below. This is probably my last post of the year. I hope everyone had a great Christmas (I still feel bloated) and...

Have a Happy New Year

Should you Move to Chiang Mai Update 2019

We have lived in Chiang Mai on and off for 5 years and absolutely love it. There are a few quirks like a terrible smokey season where the air is unhealthy from February to mid April. It was particularly bad this year and topped the chart for most dangerous city in the world many times.

My hobby has become street photography in Chiang Mai. Here is an example below. It is a great place to catch local characters, tourists and some cool old buildings.

I am thinking about dropping everything and going off around the world. I work online mostly and recon as long as I have a decent internet connection, I should be able to do it.

There are these guys calling themselves digital nomads and living in places like Chiang Mai in Thailand semi long term. There are plenty of other hotspots for these guys in Indonesia, Vietnam and outside of Asia.

The more I read up on this the more I think I want to do it. Especially with the January to March grey skies of the UK coming up. On the other hand there is the dangerous smokey season in Chiang Mai at this time. Hmmm, we shall see.